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Bug Squad

Bug Squad blog image depicts a honey bee sting in action.

Welcome to the Bug Squad blog! The Bug Squad blog was launched Aug. 6, 2008 and is a daily blog (Monday through Friday). It showcases entomologists and the work they do.  The blog focuses on scientists in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, the UC Davis Bee Haven, and assorted campuswide events, including UC Davis Picnic Day, UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, and Bohart Museum open houses. The blog spotlights insects, including bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and praying mantises, as well as arachnids such as jumping spiders and crab spiders. Author and photographer is Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and a longtime journalist and community scientist with two degrees from Washington State University.  She is a member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE). Her blog posts and images have won international awards from ACE and ESA and appeared on journal and magazine covers. She shoots primarily with a Nikon Z-8 mirrorless camera, a Nikon D500 and Nikon 800, with assorted macro lenses. 

In this image, Jacob “Jake” Francis and Sage Kruleski, an undergraduate researcher from the University of Nevada, Reno, are sampling nectar and pollen rewards from phlox on Peavine Mountain, northwest of Reno.

Congrats to the Two 'Jakes' from the Rachel Vannette Lab

June 28, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Congrats to the two "Jakes" from the laboratory of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. The two postdoctoral scholars, Jacob "Jake" Francis and Jacob "Jake" Cecala, have just received prestigious federal research fellowships.
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This drone fly (Eristalis tenax) is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 6 of National Pollinator Week: Meet the Drone Fly

June 26, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's Day 6 of National Pollinator Week. Meet the drone fly (Eristalis tenax), often mistaken for a honey bee. The late Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, used to jokingly call it "The H Bee," pointing to the "H on its abdomen. It's not a bee, though, it's a fly.
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A leafcutter bee (family Megachilidae) foraging on Verbena in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 5 of National Pollinator Week: The Leafcutter Bee

June 25, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Day 5 of National Pollinator Week: Meet the leafcutter bee, family Megachilidae. It's a native pollinator, a solitary bee, and about the size of a honey bee. Its coloration--the black-and-white banded abdomen--makes it easily recognizable.
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The blister beetle is both a pollinator and a pest. It is a pest of alfalfa and is toxic to livestock, especially horses. This one is foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 4 of National Pollinator Week: Beetles

June 24, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When you think of pollinators, you think of bees, right? And well you should: honey bees are the global workhorses of the pollination community and pollinate about one-third of the food we eat, including fruits and vegetables and some nuts, primarily almonds (California's almond acreage exceeds 1.
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